Rating: 
Summary: ONE BOOK I DIDN'T WANT TO FINISH!!
Review: As an Englishwoman, born and bred, I cannot believe that Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers are not the product of an English writer - born and bred. Elizabeth George has such an incredible understanding of the English culture and she reflects this in all aspects of her books, not an easy task for anyone!!I am sure that many like myself have been waiting eagerly to discover the fate of the irrepressible Barbara Havers. I was very excited to learn that the next installment was available at last and I was instantly hooked - as usual!! Never have I been so enthralled by a book - Elizabeth George always manages to get her characters right under my skin. They are so convincing, I really feel as though they are personal friends now and I have laughed and cried with them. In this book, we never meet Nicola Maiden in the flesh, but George ensures that we know everything about her as though she were still walking and talking. George weaves an intricate web of mystery and scandal surrounding this central character, which just left me crying out for more!! With an excellent plot and outstanding conclusion this has to be one of her best!! My message to Elizabeth George - Please Please Please don't make me wait too long for my next fix!!
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying and maddening standoff between Lynley and Havers
Review: One of Ms. George's best books, a good rebound after the bit draggy Deception On His Mind. Lynley's treatment of Havers when she gets in trouble on the job is unforgiveable and shows what a patriarchal patrician he really is, after his improved sensitivity in earlier books. Guess his "ideal" marriage brought out the worst in him, including exalting "chain of command" above all else. Havers, on the other hand, continues to grow and deal with her internal and external challenges. (Let's hope New Scotland Yard doctors never prescribe Prozac to discipline her or her all too human prickly personality will be wiped out, and much fun will be lost.) All the books in the series are primarily about relationships and about the characters consciously dealing with their own flaws, but this one really hit a home run that way. I am happy to see Winston Nkata getting to show his investigative stuff; it will be great if in the future he also has "issues" to deal with, psychologically. The plot is highly entertaining; my favorite twist was the wife's part in the recruitment of the dominatrix (hope that doesn't give anything away). It made me laugh out loud. As usual, the scene changes and the pacing are just fast enough and colorful as can be. Anybody who appreciates fine writing should read the series (in order, of course).
Rating:
Summary: Pure reading pleasure
Review: Elizabeth George has outdone herself. I have read every one of her books, and this one left me longing for more. Clever, intricate, with the interaction between Lynley and Havers, Lynley and his wife and Havers and Winnie ringing true and human. This is no surface book, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys really fine writing.
Rating:
Summary: This is the very best crime fiction.
Review: I read a lot of mystery novels by women authors, usually ones that feature female main characters. I keep up with Elizabeth Peters, Sue Grafton, and others, but whenever I sit down with the latest Elizabeth George novel I realize that all of the others just fill time for me until a new Lynley story comes out. George not only has great plots but she knows how to write, plus all of her characters, especially the main ones, have depth to them. I love the way she has brought the characters along from novel to novel, revealing more about their pasts and showing how they change. What a welcome relief from the cardboard cutouts of writers like Patricia Cornwell! As a crime novelist, I rate Elizabeth George second only to P.D. James. This is a book for readers who want quality.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: This book starts out with a bang. We know Havers was going to be punished, but not like this. Tommy and Helen are great. Elizbeth George does not write for the avearge mystery reader, but one who is going to take her work challenge and go with it. Great book. Recommend highly.
Rating:
Summary: yet another wonderful visit
Review: Elizabeth George has done it again! Yet another wonderful experience with our favorite cast of characters. As usual, a complex mystery with engaging characters is slowly assembled with twists, turns and revelations along the way. In my mind, however, the real draw is always the recurring main characters as they continue to grow and we continue to learn more about what makes them who they are. Elizabeth George has a wonderful sense of continuity and does not shy away from the consequences of what her characters experienced in the previous installment. We are the sum of our experiences. Some of the scenes with Lynley and Havers are heart-wrenching as they each react to the other's betrayal, and as they face (or fail to face) some of the underlying issues in their partnership. Helen plays a useful role in this, without taking center stage. Nkata has become an intriguing addition to the cast -- one I hope we see more of in the future. Elizabeth George -- we can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Sordid and depressing, but well written.
Review: Elizabeth George's first five books were wonderful and memorable. Since she's achieved mainstream success, however, her books have gotten longer and her characters more annoying. This book is no exception. Barbara Havers, easily the most tedious character in the series, is given too much space. Who really cares about her relationship with her Pakistani neighbors or that her elderly mother is still in a nursing home? Boring. As for Thomas Lynley, he's suddenly morphed into a self-righteous pompous *** who is simply intolerable. The most fascinating character of this series, Simon Allcourt-St. James, is given short shrift, as usual. And the mystery? Well, if you can wade through the boring stuff about career alcoholism, prostitution, S&M and dog breeding maybe you'll find some interesting stuff. As for me, I could see where this story was leading from the prologue, as will most of George's regular readers. Not as bad as "Playing for the Ashes" but nowhere near the level of "Well-Schooled in Murder" or "A Suitable Vengeance." Save your money and wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: A long wait but worth every minute of anguish
Review: I couldn't wait to get this book so I ordered it from Amazon.com/uk Lynley is faced with a dilemma after Barbara is demoted to Det Constable and forced to endure the cat-calling of her fellow policeman. The plot is well written - as always - and sends you for a bender even when you think that you have figured out who-dunnit. An enthralling read, and a great way to spend the evening relaxed. Bravo Elizabeth
Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth George makes mystery writing seem easy!
Review: With the problems facing Barbara Havers in the comclusion of Elizabeth George's last mystery "Deception on His Mind", we watch the partnership of Havers and Thomas Lynley overcome the obsticles of the Yard and the mystery at hand. Another treat for the mystery lover and Elizabeth George fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but with shortcomings
Review: Even of Elizabeth George's weaker novels are still good books. And "In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner" is even one of her better novels and a very enjoyable read. Lynley and Havers are intriguing characters, well-developed and definitely interesting. Where in other suspense novels the personal life of the investigators just interrupts the actual story in the most disturbing way, Ms. George manages to keep the reader interested both in what happens to Lynley and Havers and to the crime they are currently solving. In this book, Havers is more or less the main character and it is a pleasure reading about her. Her professional and personal difficulties are touching and the reader remains glued to the book to see if in the end things will work out well for her. - There was mercifully little about constantly miserable Deborah St. James, which I liked as this character is too boring and wallowing in self-pity to do anything for the story.
The actual crime story is just as meticulously planned, bringing surprising twists and revelations (though some of them are not quite as surprising as intended by the author). A large number of suspects keep the reader guessing, new motives are discovered and as always the personal difficulties and connections of the victim, the suspects and their family and friends are well thought out. However, for my taste there were a bit too many different leads and theories about the crime. Here, less would have been more.
Ms. George also indulged the one weakness of hers - giving the reader too many details about side characters. She has done that in excess in "Missing Joseph" and "Playing for the Ashes", which were - in my opinion - her weakest books as they didn't focus on the crime and the main characters but rather meandered off into the lives of side characters, unnecessarily interrupting the story. In this book, it happens again, though fortunately not to the same extent. The thoughts of the mother of Nicola, one of the murder victims, are described in all detail, for page upon page - boring to read eventually. The family problems of Nicola's boyfriend Julian are given about a third of the book, with uninteresting dialogues and lines of thought that mostly have nothing to do with the actual story. This actually highly dimished the reading pleasure and I wish Ms. George would return to the style she used in her earlier books and stop adding so many unnecessary scenes to the books.
I also don't quite see the necessity of making Lynley quite so unlikeable in this novel and though I usually enjoy any scene with Helen, the slightly repetitive conversations between the newly-weds weren't very thrilling to read.
One thing I noticed here is that while Ms. George has a sophisticated and enjoyable writing style, she likes to enjoy writing about the darker side of humanity. Unncessary little bits of information (we neither need to nor care to know where exactly the office building security guy was scratching himself before noticing havers) and a way-too-detailed description of prostitution and S/M don't do anything for the story. It's okay to describe it where necessary, but the reader is not interested in every little detail and it really harms the style of the book.
So, while this was not the best of the Lynley/Havers novels, it certainly was a reasonably good one, though with some avoidable weaknesses.
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